Read Entice: An Ignite Novella for Free Online Page A

leaning forward and placing his elbows on his knees, ready to listen. I pause for a minute before flopping down on my own bed to listen with Az. I try to remind myself I’m being watched. Every hesitation to fall into line is another strike against me.
    “This is a most unorthodox introduction,” Gus begins, scratching his jaw. “But I should have expected it after reading your case reports.”
    “Case reports?” I turn to Azael, waiting for an explanation, but he just stares straight ahead and smiles.
    “What did it say?” he asks Gus.
    “Most of it was...redacted. It did mention that you two were highly reactive and acted in extreme measures when working together.” He pulls out the notebook again and nods. “Used correctly, however, whatever connection you share could be very effective. With some focus, perhaps you both could become key players down here.”
    “We’re already ranked L1,” Azael says to him, grinning proudly. “How much higher could we rise for angels so fallen?”
    “Advisors to Lucifer,” Gus answers slowly. “Part of his inner circle, if you listen to me.”
    “And what makes what you have to say worth listening to?” I interrupt. Az shoots me a look.
    Gus reclines in the chair and stretches his long legs out in front of him, knocking over a stack of my books. It takes a lot of concentration for me to sit perfectly still and not rush forward to re-stack them. “Your name is Penemuel, is that correct?”
    “Pen,” I correct him automatically.
    “Of course it is.” He makes a note in his book and snaps it closed. “I’m a Diviner,” he tells me. “You were a scribe in Heaven, weren’t you? So you understand what I do. I’m the person who handed down the fates for you to document. I was the voice you heard in your head, the reason the ink covered your pages every day. And I saw you. Do you know what I saw?”
    I cross my arms and shrug. “That I’m quick-witted? Astoundingly clever? Have excellent marksmanship and penmanship? That’s quite a rare trait. Lethal and legible.”
    He ignores my comment. “I saw that you wanted to teach man how to write, how to read. Is that correct?”
    I glance over at Azael and see he’s already staring at me. I had never told him that. I shrug again.
    “And according to your file, you weren’t opposed to the humans if they were given the gift of words. I take it that opinion didn’t go over well.”
    “What a great guess,” I say, kicking back the covers of my bed and shifting against the wall. “It doesn’t take a genius to figure out Heaven wanted to keep the power of words to themselves.” No language, no writing. They want to hoard the nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and verbs. Lock away every last preposition, conjunction, and—HELL!—even the interjections. “And what good would that have been—to create a species no more enlightened than the ones before? They’d be animals, grunting their way through existence. Who wants a bunch of thick-headed imbeciles populating Earth?”
    I remember an argument I had with a group of angels that forbade me from sharing written language when man was made. I was a scribe who wanted to overstep my bounds, to watch humans and teach them how to write, how to tell stories. They had to know that words could become beautiful art when tied together the right way. They didn’t listen to me.
    “Who wants man populating Earth?” Az adds.
    “So, given the chance, you would teach man to write and read?” His question is directed only at me.
    “Heaven can’t stop me anymore.”
    “Putting Pen to parchment,” Gus says, a small smile lifting the corner of his mouth. “I’m here to give you that chance.”
    Azael leans forward, and I can feel his excitement in the room. It’s hot and electric, like lightning contained in glass, ready to explode. Our assignment , I hear his voice in my head.
    “Am I correct in believing that you two were informed that you are being tasked with a top priority